Days of our Laives

There are so many people who love Kira and who can't see her everyday.  I'm going to be a lot better about sharing pictures with you guys.  Everytime I download pictures from my camera (about every 1-2 weeks), I will post pictures of Kira; you can see them HERE .  Stay tuned for "Kira in August"  I may update to the same collection more than once per month, so check back whenever you have time. And, whenever you see a picture like this: ...just click on it, and it will take you to a bunch of other pictures.  I hope this helps to keep those far away more connected to Kira and the rest of our family.  xoxo - Vickie

It's been a little over a week since Kira's 6-month doctor's appointment.  Here is where we are so far: 1. Eating solids - C - Kira is not a huge fan of the rice cereal.  She often cringes, spits, and fusses.  The doctor says we can start apples and sweet potatoes after the rice cereal, but we haven't actually done it yet.  And, a friend of mine says her daughter never liked the rice cereal, but she loves oatmeal cereal.  So we have lots to try and we need to get on it ASAP. 2. Using a sippy cup - B+ - Kira is pretty good with a sippy cup.  She sometimes remembers that there is yummy juice inside.  Sometimes she forgets and by chance will suck on the spout and then there is a look of surprise on her face!  It's so funny.  I give her a B+ on this one because sometimes she uses her sippy cup as a tambourine or a chew toy. 3. Sleep training - B - A few days ago, I would have given Kira a D- on this one.  But to my great surprise, she fell asleep tonight on her own!  Tr...

My first bout of mastitis started yesterday morning.  I woke up feeling all out of sorts: my entire body was achy, certain places were tender and painful to the touch, and I had a fever of 99.2.  Later on in the day my fever would go up to 102.  Here's how the day went: 11:30 am - Woke up feeling crapy and called the doctor.  The nurse answered and said the doctor would call me back.  In the mean time, I fed Kira on the unaffected breast (which was engorged) and had some lunch. 1:00 pm - Doctor still hadn't called back, so Kira and I took a nap.  She was such a good girl for Mommy.  We slept soundly until 3:30!  That's a long nap for Kira who normally sleeps only 20-45 mins. 3:30 -  We woke up, and Kira was hungry.  I would have liked to have asked the doctor whether it would be okay to feed Kira on the affected breast.  But the doctor still hadn't called.  So, I fed Kira on the affected breast.  I had a temperature of 102 so I took 2 Tylenols (1300 mg total). 3:35 - Th...

Kira had her 6-month doctor's appointment yesterday.  She's fallen from the 75th percentile when she was born to the 42nd percentile!  I made sure with the doctor that this does not mean Kira is underweight; it simply means she's skinny, which, he added, is not a surprise based her her father's stature. (He mentioned nothing about my stature...) Lots of things we need to start with Kira! 1. Eating solids - we started already, so we just need to keep going.  After a week of eating rice cereal, the doctor suggests we introduce apples.  This will help with any constipation that may occur.  He added that if Kira is indeed having difficulty making poops, I can also feed her 1-2 oz of prune juice. 2. Using a sippy cup - Kira can now start drinking water from a sippy cup!  I need to get one from BRU.  The doctor warns not to give her too much juice other than prune juice for regularity because of the sugar. 3. Sleep training - Kira's doctor says we should try to put her do...

I've spent approximately 4-6 hours cumulatively over the past 2-3 weeks researching weaning.  Surprisingly there is not a lot of medically/scientifically based information out there.   It appears to me that the people who bother to write and publish information about weaning are those who strongly advocate prolonged breast feeding, and "baby-led" weaning.  The technique behind baby-lead weaning is simply letting the baby decide whether he/she is ready to wean.  Typically this takes at least 2-2.5 years, and more likely up to 4 years.  Websites and books will also provide supporting evidence for why nursing a 4 year old is natural and beneficial.  They will also provide arguments for why a mother should not succumb to the pressures of family, friends, and society to wean before baby is ready. The idea of following through with baby-led weaning is disconcerting to me, to say the least!  But with the overwhelmingly one-sided information that's out there, I was starting ...

Today Kira is exactly 6 months old!  Starting today, Kira will be embarking upon two major steps in her little life: eating solid foods and weaning. Feeding Kira solids was an exciting experience.  Watching her figure things out is amazing.  My books and online resources say to feed baby her first solids when she is in a good mood and not necessarily very hungry.  This will make for a better learning experience; the point is for Kira to happily learn what food is and what to do with it, not necessarily simply to get the cereal into her system.  Kira is in the best of moods after her nap, or after eating.  So once she woke up at around 8 pm, I breast fed her a little and then we mixed some rice cereal with some breast milk.  Check out the video.  And pictures HERE (Trevor will be mad that I shared the pictures before he had an opportunity to post-process them, but I just couldn't wait). The video shows the very beginning of the feeding session.  Kira was having a great time; maybe ...

I burned Kira's hand.  The whole thing is still replaying in my head, and I can still hear her distinctive cry of pain. Whenever we go to restaurants for dinner, I usually try to put Kira to sleep.  Half the time she happily dozes off, but the other half of the time she fusses, compelling Trevor and I to pass her between the two of us.  One person eats while the other one holds Kira.  In the mean time, the one holding Kira still tries to eat so that our dinner mates (i.e., family and friends) aren't stuck watching us finish our dinner way after they are done. Yesterday was a "fussy" night.  Both our families (the Lais and the Lews) had dinner together at Shabu-Zen in Allston.  The soup was just ready and Trevor was spooning the cooked cabbage into my bowl and placing it in front of me.  I was holding Kira in the sling.  Despite having many family members around and available for holding Kira, I ended up holding her for quite a while and to relieve my tired arms, I pu...

Who is this guy?...Why am I writing about him? I come across at least a few things each day that tease me in to a quick web investigation. These kinds of things are usually in search of facts or knowledge about people or things that I would otherwise never have come across. This morning I read a short quote that tickled me enough to re-read it a couple more times. It is on a little google gadget on my homepage by GK Chesterton that reads: He may be mad, but there's method in his madness. There nearly always is method in madness. It's what drives men mad, being methodical. GK Chesterton I did a quick wikipedia search resulting in the following page: Click Here I haven't really read much but this is a note to myself to check back later to dig a little deeper! Here are some more of his quotes!

When Trevor reads this he is going to kill me.  I bought another sling!  But this one is so much better than the other one , for two reasons.  One: it's smaller and thus fits me better, reducing back strain and insecurity holding Kira.  Two: it's a light cotton material better suited for the spring and summer.  The other sling is fleece making it unusable in the summer heat. Now that I have my sling, I'm going to try and use it more often and get more things done.  Here is my list of things to do today:  - reply to emails  - blog  - clean up the clutter  - laundry - kitchen linens and whites  - wash the kitchen sink and the microwave  - run the Roomba  - Shopping - bolero for me, new leash for Logan, and groceries  - Quicken

Kira has been slightly grumpier than normal this afternoon and we think we've figured out why. Normally she gets grumpy when she gets over-tired but today she's been fussy even after waking up from her usual naps. When she was laughing I noticed her first left tooth peeking out of her gums! She quickly calms down when we give her some teething toys from the refrigerator!

Wait until the end - there is a victory cry  =)

I just noticed something ALARMING.  I have a blocked milk pore!  (aka milk blister) I think it's the cause of all the back up in my breast, and not a plugged milk duct. There are a few things I can do.  First, I should apply a hot, moist compress.  Then, immediately following, I should nurse Kira.  I tried this, but Kira was too cranky to nurse.  She was both fed up with sucking and overtired.  So I will try again with her later.  Another thing I can do is to apply an epsom-salt soak.  My brother is going out to buy me some epsom salt right now. If that doesn't work, I may have to pop it!   Kellymom says not to do it yourself and to go to the doctor to have it done.

Towards the end of my pregnancy, I noticed strange bruise marks on the back of both calves and thighs.  They were blue and purple, just like a regular bruise mark, except they were linear, like 4-5 wiggly worms lined up next to each other (not end to end). After Kira was born, the varicose veins stayed.  They were there for months and eventually I thought they would never go away.  To my surprise, last night I noticed they are fading!  Yay.  Maybe they will completely disappear. Maybe this is good news for my tummy...

I can't believe it.  I have a plugged milk duct again.  Same place.  Fooey.